An earring pad having a pocket formed by a peripheral heat seal



Sept. 20, 1960 LAWRENCE 2,952,998

EARRING PAD HAVING A POCKET FORMED BY A PERIPHERAL HEAT SEAL Filed Jan. 22, 1957 United States Patent AN EARRING PAD HAVING A POCKET FORMED BY A PERIPHERAL HEAT SEAL Leonard Lawrence, Queens, N. (80-59 Lefferts Blvd., Kew Gardens 15, N.Y.)

Filed Jan. 22, 1957, Ser. No. 635,324

'3 Claims. (Cl. 63-14) This invention relates generally to the pad art, and more particularly to an improved earring pad adapted to be used in conjunction with clip-on type earrings.

As is well known in the art, earrings of this type have become increasingly popular owing to the fact that Wearing of the same does not require the piercing of the ear lobe and are more readily disengaged than the so-called screw-on type.

While otherwise convenient, earrings of this type exert a substantial pressure upon the ear lobe of the wearer, and where this pressure is not distributed over a substantial area, discomfort and irritation result. It is known in the art to provide pads which may be adhesively secured either directly to the clip of the earring or to a guru rubber sleeve which in turn is engaged with the clip of the earring, to assist in the distribution of pressure over a greater area. Unfortunately, such devices have proved to be only partially successful, in that with continued use, the body heat of the wearer tends to soften the adhesive to a point where the pad will slip with respect to the sleeve or the clip, permitting the earring to loosen and become lost.

It is therefore among the principal objects of the present invention to provide an improved earring pad construction in which the above mentioned disadvantage has been substantially eliminated.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of an integral pad element including means for enclosing a portion of the earring clip in firm engagement.

A further object of the invention lies in the provision of an earring pad in which the use of pressure sensitive adhesives as well as those which become softened under the action of normal body temperature have been completely eliminated, without any sacrifice to comfort as compared with prior art devices. 7

Still another object of the invention lies in the provision of a device of the class described and possessed of the above advantages in which the cost of fabrication may be of a reasonably low order, with consequent wide sale, distribution and use.

A feature of the invention lies in the ease with which the device may be installed upon an earring clip by those possessing only ordinary skill.

These objects and features, as well as other incidental ends and advantages, will become more clearly apparent during the course of the following disclosure, and be pointed out in the appended claims.

On the drawing, to which reference will be made in the specification, similar reference characters have been employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a view in perspective showing an embodiment of the invention in position upon a conventional earring clip.

Figure 2 is a second view in perspective thereof showing the side opposite that seen on Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view thereof.

Patented Sept. 20, 1960 Figure 4 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical sectional view as seen from the plane 4-4 on Figure 8.

Figure 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view as seen from the plane 55 on Figure 1.

Figure 6 is an exploded view in perspective showing the members comprising the embodiment.

Figure 7 is a view corresponding to that seen on Figure 6 showing the device in a fully assembled condition.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary enlarged view in perspective showing the engagement of an earring clip in fully seated condition within the device.

In accordance with the invention, the device, generally indicated by reference character 10, is shown on Figures 1, 2 and 3 in position upon -a conventional spring type earring clamp 11, the details of which form no part of the present disclosure. The clamp 11 includes a first gripping member 12 which cooperates with a second gripping member 13 to support an earring (not shown) in well known manner. Resilient means 14 urges the gripping members 12 and 13 together, to engage an ear.

lobe positioned therebetween.

The device 10 may be formed to engage either the first or the second gripping member 12 or 13, respectively, although normally a single device is sufficient to alleviate discomfort caused by excessive pressure. The device 10 includes a base member 16 and a resilient member 17 as seen on Figure 6 of the drawing.

The base member 16 is preferably formed from trans-' parent planar thermoplastic synthetic resinous sheet material, and includes an outer surface 19, an inner surface 20, the surfaces being bounded by a straight edge portion 21, a straight edge portion 22, a straight edge portion 23 and a curvilinear portion 24.

The resilient member 17 is formed from a blank 25 of thermoplastic foam material which may be heat sealed to the base member 16 without difliculty. Where the base member is formed of polyvinyl chloride the blank 25 may be of polyvinyl foam. The blank is of generally similar configuration as compared with the base member 16, although, as may be best seen on Figure 7, the overall length of the blank 25 is slightly shorter than that of the base member 16. The blank includes an outer surface 26, an inner surface 27, an end surface 28 and a peripheral surface 29, the surfaces 26-29 meeting at a first peripheral edge 30 and a second peripheral edge 31.

The base member 16 and resilient member 17 are assembled as indicated on Figure 7, wherein the first and second edges 30 and 31 are both sealed to the edges 23, 22 and 24 of the base member 16. This operation will leave a slotted opening 35 which forms an entrance to a pocket 36 formed between the members 16 and 17, in which the gripping member 12 of the earring clamp 11 may be inserted as shown on Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, and Figure 8. The resulting distortion of the resilient member causes the central portion 38 thereof to have the greatest resilient effect, while the securing of the edges 30 and 31 to the base member 16 prevents any substantial distortion of the device when in use. In inserting the gripping member 12 into the pocket 36, the separation of the opening 35 is assisted by the absence of abutting edges caused by the extension of a portion of the base member 16 below the surface 28 of the resilient member.

It may thus be seen that I have invented novel and highly useful improvements in earring pads and method of making of the same, in which the disadvantages of prior art devices have been overcome with substantially no increase in the cost of fabrication. The use of the inventive device eliminates the necessity of replacing pad elements at periodic intervals and also eliminates the possibility of loss of the earring unknown to the wearer. Where the device is made in quantity, it is possible to a 1 I claim:

1. An earring pad comprising: a base member and a resilient member; said base member being formed of planar thermoplastictmateria'l and having outer and inner surfaces and being bounded by a peripheral edge; said resilient member being formed of thermoplastic synthetic resinous foam and having an outer configuration substantially corresponding to that of'said base member; said resilient member having a peripheral edge surface defined by first and second edges; said first and second edges being flattened and heat-sealed along a portion of the lengths of the same to the peripheral edge of said base member to form a pocket between said resilient member and said base member and a flattened elongated opening to said pocket; the part of the resilient member having a centrally disposed portion thereof which is free of interconnection with said base member and forming an area having a greater degree of resiliency than said peripheral edge surface which is flattened and heat-sealed to the base member.

V 2. An earring pad comprising: a base member and a resilient member; said base member being formed of planar thermoplastic material and having outer and inner surfaces and being bounded by a peripheral edge; said resilient member'being formed of thermoplastic synthetic resinous foam and having an outer configuration substantially corresponding to that of said base member; said resilient member having a peripheral edge surface defined by first and second edges; said first and second edges being flattened and heat-sealed along a portion of the lengths of the same to the peripheral edge of said base member to form a pocket between said resilient member and said base member and a flattened elongated opening to said pocket; the part of the resilient member having a centrally disposed portion. thereof which is free of interconnection with said base member andforming an area having a greater degree of resiliency than said peripheral edge surface which isvflattened and heat-sealed to the base member; said base member being formed of polyvinyl acetate and said resilient member being formed of polyvinyl foam. 7

3. Structure according to claim 2 in which said base member is of longer over-all length than said resilient member to provide an extended portion at the opening to said pocket to facilitate entrance thereinto.

: References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS,

1,761,443 Hooper June 3, 1930 1,974,203 Collins Sept. 18, 1934 2,521,985 Lang et a1. Sept. 12, 1950 2,763,999 Norman Sept. 25, 1 956 

